A popular wedding villa set on Bali’s picturesque southern clifftop burned down in the wee hours of this morning, allegedly as a result of being struck by lightning in last night’s storm. Thankfully, there were no guests staying at the accommodation — Villa Tirtha Bridal — at the time, though material losses are estimated to be IDR2 billion (US141,280).
Nine fire engines were deployed to fight the blaze, which was reported by a local resident at around 1:10am. Firefighters managed to put out the fire by 3:30am, but unfortunately by that point, the damage to the two-acre property on Jl. Batu Bolong in Pecatu was already done.
“By deploying nine BW units, it took us two hours to extinguish the fire. The total loss is approximately IDR2 billion,” said the head of the Badung Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Wayan Wirya, as quoted in Tribun Bali.
Rainy season thunder and lightning storms have caused problems in Bali before; just last November, a Belgian surfer was struck by lightning when surfing in the Canggu area.
Here’s hoping that everyone stays safe during the wet weather.
